So what that does this all have to do with Google? Well, Google has penalized some free template sites in it’s latest Penguin update because of the attribution links that many template users leave in the footer, and that end up on less than savoury sites. Google calls them bad neighborhoods.

I actually know all about bad sites leaving the attribution link intact, because some bad stuff was written about me a while back, and I had to go and publicly proclaim that I was simply the designer of the free template that the porn site, or the scammer had used. And that link in the footer, in those cases, was a liability to me.

But why should a web designer, who generously donates his or her time to give free stuff out to brand themselves and gain exposure, be penalized by Google? After all, when you generously donate stuff to the Public domain, there is no way you should be liable for how your gift to the Internet is used.

It hardly seems fair, does it? Well, it’s happening. I recently read this post and it was a huge eye-opener for me and it was the actions of Google directly affecting a free template site, that made me decide what to do moving forward.

My current free templates are all over the Internet, and however they have been used is not in my control, as 90% of them I donated to the public Domain or as WordPress themes, they fall under the GNU General Public License. Either way, I did not want to put any restrictions on the use of the free gifts I gave. And I benefited enormously from free back-links that were naturally given to me by the users of the templates and themes I distributed, who were kind enough to credit my work. I’m truly grateful for that.

But Google is now punishing us for that, if you read the article I mentioned above, you’ll see how one site lost about 75% or more of their traffic. Businesses have been wiped out over-night by Google’s decisions.

Therefore, any free templates I provide going forward will not be available to the public domain. I’m going to create free and paid versions of a community site and membership will be required if you want my stuff. I’m also creating some paid info products of my own, including a strategy that is anti-Google so that you never have to worry about ranking in Google, because the traffic you get from these sources will make Google traffic insignificant. Yes, really.

Also, as I had mentioned on May 9, I’m phasing out freelancing and consulting in favor of product creation and promotion. I’ve chose a couple of products that are not mine and don’t have anything to do with Internet marketing, that I’m going to promote, because they are superior products and in a niche I’m absolutely passionate about. I will not be taking on any more web development clients, but instead, members of my paid community site will benefit from lots and lots of instructional material for the DIY webmaster and Internet entrepreneur.

That’s the immediate plan and what I will be working on going forward. I will of course, let everyone know when the community site is available for registration. Of course, I will still post here on this blog, and appreciate all the readers who have subscribed. Have a wonderful day, and remember, if you’re running an online business, please don’t just count on one marketing strategy for gaining web traffic. Don’t let any third-party site destroy your business overnight.

Here’s to our mutual success!

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It was decided that we would use the OpenCart software as the backend application. I had worked with other ecommerce applications before, but not OpenCart, yet I still felt confident that I could completely customize it based on the client’s specifications. Once you know how to work with one template-driven PHP application, it’s not hard to figure out other ones. Well, I don’t find it hard, that is.

The client’s employer sells about 100 products, so it wasn’t a huge under-taking, but there were lots of delays because of staff shortages at my client’s work, and the project dragged on and on. Finally, this year, we got back on track, updated the store with the recent price changes and then all that was left to do was proofreading. There was a lot of content from the old site to transfer over, so the proofreading took some time.

Then the client’s hosting was completely different from most hosting accounts and a MySQL database and SSL had to be set up before moving the store from the development server to the live one. All went fairly smoothly, though, except for a couple of minor glitches that we fixed, and today, I can finally say it’s complete.

The client is happy, I’m happy, and I think I will celebrate tonight. You see, with this project complete, I can now focus on a plan that I have had on a back burner to progress from a freelancer to a product creator, and I’m just itching to get started.

Being a web design and Internet consultant has it’s pros and cons. The biggest pro is when the client is happy – and the feeling of accomplishment that goes along with it. That makes all the other stuff worthwhile.

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So as I often do when there’s no one around to talk to about how I’m feeling, I searched YouTube for a feel-good fix.

When I was young I loved watching Charlie Brown cartoons. They made me laugh, they made me cry, but mostly they made me feel like the world was sweet and innocent, if only for a while. I was tickled pink when I found this really cute Charlie Brown video called simply “Happiness”.

Yes, I’m in a much better mood now. It doesn’t take much.

Simple things make me happy.

And for that I’m truly grateful.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Don’t concern yourself with plugins not working. Every one of the plugins I use work fine after upgrading and I use most of the important ones as well as many others.

I strongly advise you to upgrade to the latest version of WordPress so that you are secured.

You or your virtual assistant need only take a moment in most cases, unless you have many WordPress sites to update. In which case you have staff to do the job, so get them on it. Open source software such as WordPress is susceptible to attacks and as such, you need to be vigilant and you can’t just let your WordPress sites lie dormant like you can a static HTML site.

Other than that annoyance of always needing to upgrade to be safe, WordPress continues to be used and loved by millions of users and why wouldn’t it? WordPress’ capabilities extend far beyond blogging, therefore becoming the choice of online entrepreneurs to quickly launch all sorts of successful businesses.

So just like you wouldn’t neglect your property in the real world, don’t neglect your WordPress web properties. Here’s to your success and a smooth and problem-free WordPress experience!

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The WooCommerce part of the plugin really interests me, because up until now there haven’t been too many good free ecommerce solutions that are secure enough and work seamlessly with WordPress. WooCommerce may just be that free solution. If you want to sell stuff from your WordPress blog, you can do it now easily, from what I can tell, and it won’t cost you anything.

I’m going to be playing around with WooCommerce on my WordPress test site and once I am more familiar with it, I’ll be able to give it a more in-depth review. I don’t think I’ll be disappointed, though, as I’ve been a fan of WooThemes for quite some time now.

Just a heads up, though, if you want the WooCommerce and custom sidebars part of the plugin, you need to become a member of WooThemes. It’s free though, so no worries. I do see them coming up with a paid version of the plugin in the future too. And why wouldn’t they? There’s still a significant market for a good ecommerce plugin for WordPress, of that I am certain.

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Well, I refuse to let a bad economy get me down. Instead, I’m focusing on the moment and on the simple things in life that give me pleasure. I think the secret to happiness lies in the lesson behind the following video entitled: Life is Like Coffee. Let me know what you think and do have a wonderful day.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Many times, a miraculous event caught on tape by pure luck, or a prank gone horribly wrong, or an ‘epic fail’ will go viral. But this hasn’t stopped a legion of Internet-savvy companies, including Yellow Pages, Volkswagen, Toyota, FreeTaxUSA and many others, from soliciting user generated viral videos and fostering creative relationships with consumers. Here are a few of the common characteristics in viral video:

They told a story, albeit weird or disjointed. There is an age-old desire among the human race to be told a good story that draws on the knowledge of the past while accepting the present and projecting for the future. The viral video “I Got a Crush On Obama”, for instance, which had a lot of things going for it—topical politics and sex appeal not excluded—was at its core a story about a girl who develops a crush on a politically savvy and handsome politician. Add to that the absurdity of the presentation and the apolitical treatment of a highly politicized topic and you have a combination that was destined to flourish.

They created an emotional bond with the audience. In his seminal book Lovemarks: the Future Beyond Brands, Kevin Roberts argues that the key to marketing is creating a bond with the consumer by instilling mystery, sensuality, and intimacy into your brand. This, he says, elevates it to the level of a lovemark. One could argue that a similar principle is at work with viral videos, in which a sense of sexy mystery and absurdity seems to prevail over all else.

They utilized both SEO and social media. Like with a website, videos must be tagged with keywords, meta, keywords, headers, thumbnails and titles in order to be optimized for the web and attract as many viewers as possible. Many companies launch viral videos with the intent of sharing them across multiple video-sharing sites, including YouTube, Funny Or Die, College Humor, as well as all the major social media sites.

There are any number of blogs that break down the technical reasons why a video goes viral. But at the core, content is the most important ingredient when you’re cooking up a viral video. Tell a story, create an emotional bond with the audience, and optimize the video for the Internet.

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Simply add your own text transitions, sound effects or music loop, using any number of video editors to mix it all, along with one of the motion backgrounds in the collection and before you know it, you’ll have a quality video that you can upload into the video sharing sites like YouTube and Daily Motion.

The same people are offering another site with quality stock video footage that combines motion and sound. That reduces the work needed to create the video that much more, because all you have to focus on is the text – the message of your video. Check them out at IgniteHD.

Using video as part of your marketing strategy is an effective method to capture attention, extending your brand, and doing it yourself can be a lot of fun if you’re the creative type, like I am, as well as being cost-effective.

There are many amateur videos that have gone viral, just because of the content. The video you create doesn’t have to be perfect to create a buzz. It just has to have a strong message, it has to be interesting, and it has to have viewers.

Using free resources for video creation is a great way to just get those first few videos out there to start your video marketing campaign. Once you build your business up and you start to profit, you can then outsource a lot of the work, and that is another topic to discuss some other time.

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I felt this topic deserves lots of attention and welcome your feedback.

“From gossip to Gospel”

I saw a post on a discussion board recently complaining that
two of the larger autoresponder services in this part of the
market, Aweber and GetResponse, were both down.

The responses were… fascinating.

Several people suggested the sites were being targeted with a
DDoS. A few were sure they were being hacked. One said it was
probably just one service, with the second being secretly owned
by the first. Obviously some unspecified sneaky stuff going on.
Another fellow was sure that the lists hosted at both would
likely be stolen and spammed.

It went on like that for a while.

Turns out, it was a lot simpler than that. See, they’re both
colo’d at the same place. According to a gentleman who works
for one of the companies, the whole data center was down. A
simple, if serious, malfunction.

No spies, no conspiracies, and no evil geniuses working their
dark computer magic for nefarious purposes. Just… something’s
borked.

Whodathunkit?

….

That example is harmless, but it shows the tip of what can be a
very ugly – and dangerous – iceberg.

You see, a few people will have read the first few posts in
that thread, assumed they were correct, and left, taking those
wrong impressions with them. The next time something similar
comes up, especially if it involves either of those companies,
there’s a chance they’ll repeat that misinformation.

That can lead to others doing the same, and the notions
spreading. And it isn’t always this innocent in the beginning.
Whether deliberately engineered or just the result of idle
speculation by people who are prone to conspiracy theories, it
usually ends up with real damage being done.

Chinese whispers, in real life.

….

Here’s how this normal process can become a major problem…

* Someone says something shocking or surprising, usually
about an established and well-known person or company.

* People post speculation and/or possible explanations for
the thing. Momentum builds.

* The thing gets repeated, and more people add their
assumptions. They now have their own egos invested in
believing the lies.

* Anyone questioning the assertions is derided as a “sheep”
or accused of being involved in some conspiracy to hide
“The Truth.”

* People start posting links from one thread or post to
another, as “proof” of the Bad Stuff. Rumor is used as
evidence of the truth of gossip. “Everyone knows…”

* The original poster starts to believe their own press,
and becomes an evangelist. They have a following now,
after all. Gotta keep that going.

* The cycle repeats.

* A new mini-meme is established, through nothing more than
repetition and gullibility.

Simple, yes?

That’s how gossip turns to Gospel.

….

This can be nasty, even when it begins as idle speculation. It
often doesn’t.

Sometimes this will start with a competitor repeating the same
untruth a few times, and getting others into the discussion. Or
some angry person who feels they’ve been wronged and doesn’t
know how to resolve the situation. Or someone who’s just got
their ego in a twist over some perceived insult and is
determined to “Make that bastich pay!”

Or an angry ex or former employee.

Sometimes, when it’s just a few repetitions to seed the thing,
it doesn’t become a major issue. Just something that echoes
around for a while, but never takes on any life of its own.
Other times, it can become a serious issue, with lunatic
parrots determined to make sure everyone believes the same lies
they do.

Yes, most of these people do believe the lies. They convince
themselves, because they’ve repeated them, and they’re invested
in them. Looking too closely might make them aware they’re
being duped by their own gullibility or frustration.

Sometimes it’s much darker than that.

….

A common example is the problem of teens spreading lies on
Facebook or Twitter, or via text messages to all their friends.
We’ve all seen the news stories about how badly those things
can end.

Another example is a fellow in this industry, who has made
something of a crusade of bashing “The Gurus” in his
newsletter. He went so far as to email his subscribers once,
claiming these unspecified miscreants had sabotaged his webinar
to keep him from revealing The Truth.

Gimme a break, dude. Stuff happens.

Of course, in that case, it was all about positioning. He’s
setting himself up as the Good Guy’s alternative to those evil
creatures who are out to rip everyone off. It’s BS, but it
makes for good copy. And a lot of people buy into it.

The sad thing in that case is that the guy makes some
excellent points about certain aspects of the business. A lot
of the bad stuff he talks about really happens, and it hurts a
lot of people. His problem is that he’s killing his credibility
with tons of folks by adding in the “shadowy figure” nonsense.
If he stuck to the specifics, he’d have everyone but the actual
thieves cheering him on.

Smart dude. I think he’s made a bad positioning call this time.

This is where we see a whole other aspect of the hobby some
folks call “guru bashing.” The goal isn’t to solve a problem or
make people aware of something dangerous. It’s to replace those
unspecified gurus in the minds of your prospects.

Puh-lease. If the only way you can build a rep is to tear
someone else down unjustly, you need help.

See a shrink.

….

The process in the last section is called gunslinger syndrome.

The idea is to take down the Big Dogs, thus making yourself the
new top gun. When someone gets into that, it’s all about the
game. Even when they start out with the right motives, it can
become a matter of proving you’re able to displace the previous
top of the heap and set yourself up as the new sheriff in town.

If you disagree with someone with no influence, you’ll usually
just let it go. They don’t pose a threat, and beating up on the
little guy doesn’t do a lot for your street cred. But if you
can take down the guy with the heavy rep, that’s good for your
image.

Just be careful that you can win, and hold, the position.
Remember when Davey the Geek went up against Wyatt Earp?

Yeah. No-one else does, either.

The real problem with this sort of attack is that it comes with
its own built-in fall-back victory. If you fail to beat the Big
Dog(s), you can claim it’s only because they used their power
and influence to crush you. Even if they never knew you
existed.

This is why a lot of people are comfortable playing guru-
killer. They know, whether consciously or on an intuitive
level, that they really have no way to lose.

Gotta love a rigged game, eh?

….

If it’s an angry person, things can get weird. They’re not even
concerned with looking like they’ve got truth on their side. It
can often become an obsession, at which point they really do
need to see a shrink.

Obsession is an ugly thing. Don’t go there.

….

And then there’s the new growth industry: Reputation
assassins.

Seriously. I saw an ad on Craigslist the other day that
offered the services of a self-proclaimed “reputation hitman.”
He would, for a serious price, promise to post lies about
anyone you wanted. Claims of lawsuits and criminal activity, or
whatever else you wanted said. Press releases, social media
bombings, posts in relevant forums, the whole thing. Complete
with search engine optimization to make sure the lies were the
first things to show up when someone searched on the target’s
name.

He also offered to knock anyone’s website off the first page of
Google for whatever keywords you wanted. Within a week.

This stuff isn’t new, mind you. It’s been happening online
since there’s been an Internet. This is just the first person
I’ve seen blatantly offering it as a commercial service.

His target market? Competitors and ex-employers. I’m sure he’ll
be expanding into stalkers and ex-girlfriends soon enough.

Assuming, that is, that someone doesn’t find out who he is and
go postal on him. People have been badly hurt for less damage
than this sort of thing can do.

“Louis V. Slugger, meet Scumbag. Scumbag’s knees, Louis V.”

He’d be lucky if that were the worst that happened. Start
messing like this with someone who’s got a family to support,
you deserve what you get.

Same for anyone who hires this guy. Even ignoring the
potential legal hassles, which are significant, this can be a
very dangerous game to play.

….

Aside from making you aware of this process, if you weren’t
already, there is another purpose to detailing this. Several,
actually.

First, pay attention to what you say, with an eye to the
possibility that even your most innocent speculation could be
taken as Gospel by someone with less experience.

Second, look closely at any such speculation and ask yourself
if there might not be a more innocent cause for whatever’s
being discussed. If you don’t know enough about the situation,
reserve judgement until you do.

This is important for more than just avoiding damaging someone
else’s reputation. If you leap to tall conclusions in a single
bound on a subject with which you’re not familiar, you may find
that you’ve limited your ability to learn about it accurately.
That initial assumption can color everything you hear after it
if you accept it without proper questioning.

The third is always good advice, but especially so when this
sort of process is in play: Be very careful about believing
negative press online. A substantial chunk of it is invented
for various nasty purposes, and often has little, if any, basis
in fact.

Balance is the key to good decisions. Make sure you’re getting
balance in your information. Don’t give the reputation
assassins and casual gossips control over your thinking.

Paul

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There’s some Irish in my background, on my paternal grandmother’s side, apparently, so I usually celebrate.

I also think it’s a lucky day. I’m interested in the meaning of numbers too, and if you add the numbers: 1+7=8. Eight is a money number and it is an eternal number. Apparently the Irish folk are lucky, the number is lucky, so you just never know. Today your luck could change!

Here’s a couple of Irish blessings for you:

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

and…

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light.
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

Enjoy!

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